Eric Trump once dished on business ties to Russia, golf writer claims in interview

Golf writer James Dodson says he once spent some time at the Trump National Golf Club in Charlotte, N.C., where he was treated to a “bro hug” from pre-presidency Donald Trump, ate a cheeseburger and hit the links with Eric Trump before a storm washed out the back nine.

Dodson recounted how when he first walked into the club back in 2014, Donald Trump was “strutting up and down, talking to his new members about how they were part of the greatest club in North Carolina.”

When Dodson had the chance, he said he asked him what he’d paid for the course. Trump told him $100 million, which piqued his curiosity. So later, when Dodson jumped in the cart with Eric Trump to play the front nine, he dug a little deeper.

“As we were setting off, I said, ‘Eric, who’s funding? I know no banks — because of the recession, the Great Recession — have touched a golf course,” Dodson said in the interview. “You know, no one’s funding any kind of golf construction. It’s dead in the water the last four or five years.’”

It’s this alleged response that went viral over the weekend:

‘Well, we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia. ... We’ve got some guys that really, really love golf, and they’re really invested in our programs. We just go there all the time.’
Eric Trump

Of course, the comment happens to hit just as the Trump administration faces investigations into business ties with Russia.

After a few holes with Trump’s son, the storm rolled in, and Dodson’s round — which was supposed to include nine holes with the Donald himself — was cut short.

Dodson, however, managed to catch up with the future president in the clubhouse over a cheeseburger later.

After lunch, Trump walked Dodson out to his car, clutching him in “a real bro hug” along the way. At one point, Trump asked him if he’d read any of his books.

“I deadpanned. I said, ‘Yes, they’re all stacked up on my bedside table. I haven’t gotten to them yet,’ ” Dodson recalled. “But he didn’t seem to get the joke.”

Trump pressed him to ask tougher questions. “I’m the most open interview you’ve ever had. I’ll tell you anything,” he said. “Give me something with some mustard.”

So Dodson did.

“‘My wife and I watched ‘The Apprentice’ for the first time the other night in preparation for coming over here,’ ” he said he told Trump. “‘And, honestly, the question that kept popping up in my head is: Are you as big an a--hole as you seem? Or do you just play one on TV?’ ”

Dodson said Trump dropped his arm “like it had caught fire spontaneously” and made a “constipated furious pig face” before he “slapped my back, doubled over and popped up laughing like you can’t believe and declared, ‘Yeah, it’s fun, isn’t it?’ ”

His conclusion after his brush with Trump?

“You know, I liked the guy. I liked him,” Dodson said. “He’s very beguilingly chummy. ... [H]e really does want you to like him. I mean, I think understanding Trump is that simple. He wants you to like him.”

Shawn
Langlois

Shawn Langlois is an editor and writer for MarketWatch in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @slangwise.

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